


Louder than Words

by SilverServerError



Series: Monster on the Mountain [4]
Category: CLAMP - Works, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Dragon Kurogane, M/M, Phoenix Fai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 14:24:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7226044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverServerError/pseuds/SilverServerError
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’m not your steed.” Kurogane narrows his eyes. “You are not my master.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Louder than Words

 

“What?” Kurogane roars.   
  
That was the thing about being friends with dragons. You had to be loud. Fai leans forward, his mouth moving against scales, the sound of his voice carrying a little better through the solid bone of his skull. “I said,” He yells, fighting to be heard above the rushing of the wind, “I’m getting kind of hungry.”

 

“Oh.” And with that, Kurogane beats his wings, twists his torso and changes direction. Fai shifts his weight, squeezing with his thighs and ankles, and clutching tightly to one of the spines to keep from falling. If the wind was bad before, it is terrible now that Kurogane is actually flying with purpose instead of just wandering his territory. Fai’s blonde hair whips in the wind and his grip is white knuckled. Even so, his grin is broad.   
  
Though his face falls a little when he sees what Kurogane has done.

 

“Hey!” Fai yells again. “Wait a minute.”

 

FWHUM. Kurogane’s wings are now the only source of noise as he flaps to keep them relatively still in the air. Well, that and some very distressed livestock.

 

“What?”

 

“Are you stealing that cow?”

 

Kurogane looks down at the bovine in his claws and Fai has to shift his torso back, almost flat against the dragon, to keep his balance.

 

FWHUM.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“But you can’t just-” FWHUM.

 

“I can. I do. I just did.”

 

“No, that’s not my point. You should be-” FWHUM. “Be hunting.”

 

Kurogane huffs and smoke trails out of his nostrils. “But the cow is right here.”

 

“No. Set it down. I’d rather eat fruit anyway.” Their angles shift and Fai quickly amends his statement. “Gently! Set it down gently.”

 

* * *

 

 

“So, you don’t hunt. Like, at _all_?”

 

Kurogane rolls an eye back at Fai with a frown. The blonde had returned the previous night in new green-blue iridescent robes tied short and fastened around the waist. The accompanying set of golden adornments had again been idly assembled from the dragon’s collection upon arrival. Fai had slept in the crook of his elbow. It had been nice. Kurogane is trying not to think too hard about it.

 

“They’re my people. It’s my right to take from them.”

 

Kurogane is going about as slow as he can bear to, but Fai still has to almost jog to keep up. “Yeah, but… where is the fun in that?”

 

“You suggest I play with my food?”

 

Fai just groans, a sotto voce “No wonder you’re depressed.” slipping out. He hops over a gnarled root obstructing the path and tries again. “Doesn’t _anything_ in this jungle interest you?”

 

Kurogane annoyingly doesn’t answer.

 

“Ok.” Fai decides. “Hunt me.”

 

Kurogane stops in his tracks and watches as the blonde passes him by with an appraising look, then continues on ahead. His bare feet tread the moss and packed earth. After a few moments Kurogane follows, nose huffing around his shoulders and catching his scent.

 

“You have a death wish?” His low voice asks.

 

Fai turns over a shoulder to glance at him, patting the tip of his nose but not stopping. “Someone is confident.” He teases.

 

A growl rolls through Kurogane’s chest. He falls a step behind. “This is a trick.”

 

Fai pivots with a smile across his face and hands held up as if to prove his innocence as he begins to walk backwards. “It’s not a trick. Honest. I just think you could use the exercise.”

 

“Tch!” The dragon keeps walking but pulls his head back up, looking down on the blonde.

 

“Oh don’t be like that,” Fai says, facing forward again. “I just want to put you through your paces.” Without warning Kurogane’s snout nudges him from behind, but from such a large creature there is quite a bit of force to it. He stumbles, almost losing his balance. Almost. “Hey!” He whines, turning to pout.

 

“I’m not your steed.” Kurogane narrows his eyes. “You are not my master.”

 

Now it is Fai who slows to a stand still and Kurogane must too, lest he run his companion over.

 

For once Fai seems to take him seriously. “I didn’t say I was.” Then he cracks a hesitant smile. “It’s just a figure of speech, Kurgy.” The blonde steps toward him and in a show of active submission he pets along the side of his jaw, soft fingers on onyx keratin. “You’ll like it.”

 

Kurogane allows the touch but huffs out another warning cloud of smoke.

 

Fai seems unperturbed. “When was the last time someone gave you a legitimate challenge, hmm?”

 

Kurogane lowers his head and though it surprises Fai, he knows this is his cue to again climb on top of him. He does so without question, using the spines to pull himself up. When they start walking again, this time at a noticeably faster pace, Kurogane finally speaks. “How do you presume to challenge me when you can’t even keep up?”

 

From this angle, the dragon can’t see the predatory look that flashes through Fai’s eyes or the way he can’t quite keep the grin off his face. It’s probably for the best.

 

Instead he hears the delayed sigh and feels the way Fai’s hand pats the top of his head. The answer, when it comes, is laughing. “How indeed?”


End file.
